Chance me for Stanford?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

I kinda copied this over from chance me but Stanford has always been on my radar, so I wanted to see if I could stand a shot here specifically.

White/Hispanic/Jewish female from WV, public schooling, with double legacy

Intended Major: Computer Science/Aerospace Engineering, maybe Political Science. I might change it.

Academics:
GPA: 3.98 weighted, 3.5/3.6 unweighted. Basically, I got 7 B’s in 16 class semesters sophomore year but turned it around and got B’s both semester of AP Bio and A’s in everything else.
APs: World, Human Geo, Bio, English, Spanish, Environmental (All Fours), Fives in US and Calc AB
Senior Schedule: AP Calc BC, AP English Lit, AP Government and Politics, AP Comp Sci, AP Physics C, ASL, Advanced Drawing and Painting Techniques
Rank: N/A

ACT: 33 (35 English, 34 CR, 33 Science, 28 Math)
SAT: 1990/2060 (Superscore: 700 reading, 690 math, 690 reading)
No SAT II

Extracurriculars and Awards:

  • WV High School Swimming Champ/10 x State Finalist
    -Club Swimming (11 years)
    -NMSF
    -National AP Scholar
    -Scholastic Gold Key (Short Story)
    -FPSPI Scenario Writing 2nd Place (WV)
    -President of Art Club
    -President of Young Democrats
    -President/Founder of Jewish Culture Club
    -Historian of National Spanish Honor Society
    -Volunteer at the Synagogue
    -Volunteer with various art programs
    -Member of NHS (head of two subcommittees there), National Art Honorary, FRC Robotics
    -~150 Community service hours

Personal Statement: I wrote about my moderate/severe hearing loss and how it’s helped shape me as a person in a positive way in different aspects of my life. Apparently it was pretty good, but I don’t know. Haven’t done the other ones yet.

Recommendations: Came from two very distinguished teachers that I have worked with closely in the past.

Thanks for any help with this. I know my GPA and test scores are low (along with everything else, hah), so getting in would obviously be a challenge.

I can try to chance back for anyone who wants me too, even though I’m definitely not an expert.

2

what is your legacy at Stanford?

3

Both parents went there. I think they still go to some alumni stuff.

4

Were your parents undergrads or graduate students at Stanford?

5

Recruited athlete?

6

@fredthered Undergrads.

@ClarinetDad16 Heh, I wish.

7

Make sure your passion for the major comes across. Based on your EC, I would have thought you were majoring in the humanities. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve got a solid CV, but if you can tie it back to your intended field of study, it gives your entire application direction (and by extension a reason for Stanford Admission officers to admit you).

8

@IBscholar Thanks for the advice! I’m glad you think so haha. To be honest, I’m thinking of applying for Political Science as my first choice (I actually do love it) and doing a double major with Comp Sci. With that, I could probably tie my CV into both more easily…
Thanks again!

9

^ You apply to Stanford as a university, and not to a specific program. There is no commitment to any particular major, and a large percentage of students end up studying something different than what they originally intend (I was one).

That said, Stanford is intensely interested in not letting it’s success in CS/engineering overwhelm the university as a whole, so students who are interested in the humanities and social sciences are valued. They also have a significant initiative to allow studies to combine those interests with computer science, called CS/X, in which students can do a joint major:

https://undergrad.stanford.edu/academic-planning/majors-minors/joint-majors-csx

I would think that CS+Political Science could be an interesting combination. There are lots of policy issues related to information technology - cybersecurity, privacy, using data technology to address policy issues, etc. You could certainly craft an interesting application around these ideas if you so chose, and it would be a way of tying together your different interests.

10

^ That’s true! Sorry if my post made it sound like you’re committing to a program. I do think though that tying disparate EC together is important in showing Stanford you have a directed passion for something that, in turn, gives them a reason to admit someone. :slight_smile:

11

Double legacy = hook (thought not as much as you think)
Hispanic = hook (same as above)
Disability/hearing loss. = maybe a hook
West VA = weak hook
Female interested in CS or engineering = zero hook to slight negative because you have nothing in profile that supports thiese “supposed” interests.

I’m using the word hook to mean advantage and not just the way it is is normally applied (URM, recruited athlete, legacy).

Your grades and test scores would normally be low for Stanford particularly since most of your EC accomplishments are on the HS level. I don’t know if the above hooks are enough to offset them. I would think not given how incredibly tough it is to get into Stanford RD. Did you apply REA? Good luck though!